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This is a wonderful month to be by the water as London is having its first month-long Totally Thames Festival. The 30-day programme features over 100 river-related events along its entire 42 mile course through the capital.

Photo credit: Barry Lewis

Some of the highlights include a new sculpture for the River Thames by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman (he did the outsized Rubber Duck) which will be launched on 2 September and will remain at Nine Elms on the South Bank until 29 September.

I want to see the Mapping London free exhibition of rare maps of London at gallery@oxo (5-14 September, 11am-6pm) covering the dramatic transformations of the Thames landscape and the art of cartography from 1572 to 2013.

St Katharine Docks, next to Tower Bridge, has a free family-friendly celebration of classic, historic and working boats for the Classic Boat Rally on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September, 11am-6pm. Both working and leisure boats will be in the dock for public enjoyment and tours. Highlights will include the Queen’s Row Barge “Gloriana” along with “Massey Shaw” fire boat, the Steamtug “Portwey” and SB “Cambria” amongst others.

GREENWICH

An excellent reason to head to the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the Tall Ships Festival from 5 to 9 September. The five day free festival is at historic Greenwich, Royal Arsenal Woolwich, Greenwich Peninsula and West India Dock.

There will be opportunities to board some tall ships moored along the Greenwich waterfront and there will be evening fireworks displays on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September. The festival launch and closing Parade should be well worth seeing.

Tobacco Dock is the place to be for all carnivores as Meatopia on 6-7 September is a complete meat feast. (And don’t forget you can get a Londinium Rib Eye Steak at the London Bridge Hotel.)

Bermondsey Street Festival on 20 September will have lots of local food and drink as well as live music and stalls and a popular dog show.

Carnival del Kerb is bringing street food to SE1 on 5 and 12 September for Friday night fun at The Paperworks. The Carnival evenings will run from 5pm to 11pm, bringing together 12 street food traders alongside live music and a full bar.

TRANSPORT THEME

On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September 2014, London Transport Museum opens the doors of its Depot in Acton, for the Battle Bus Open Weekend with activities focusing on the role of London’s Transport in the First World War. Visitors will have access to the Depot’s vast collections store which only opens to the public occasionally. A highlight of the open weekend will be the appearance of the Museum’s 1914 B-type bus No. 2737, now stripped of its London paintwork and converted into a wartime ‘Battle Bus’ with khaki livery and boarded up windows, ready to transport troops to the Front Line.

In central London, at Design Junction from 18 to 21 September, you can visit a London bus themed bar too.

DESIGN FESTIVALS

The MERGE Festival returns from 18 September to 19 October with exhibitions, performances, events and happenings drawing on the rich heritage and contemporary culture of Bankside.

London Design Festival is on from 13 to 21 September and is using the V&A as the main hub for the nine day event. A broad range of installations will be spread throughout the Museum, including a kinetic sculpture in the Raphael Gallery by designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. The two suspended large mirrored silver structures will alter the perception of the gallery, cast new views on the Raphael cartoons and create an immersive experience for the visitor, I’m told.

EXPLORING

One of my favourite weekend’s of the year is Open House London when over 800 buildings open their doors for visitors to nose around. I’ve been inside government buildings, historic and modern houses, windmills and many more fascinating places. This year the fun is happening on 20 and 21 September.

I’d also recommend the Walk London Autumn Ambles Weekend on 26 and 27 September as there are lots of free guided walks on offer to give you a reason to get to know a new area.